Pressure Coefficient

where:Cp is the dimensionless pressure coefficientp is the pressure due to the movement of the body through the fluidpinf is the free stream fluid pressurep - pinf is known as the gauge pressureqinf is the free stream fluid dynamic pressure from Bernoulli's equation:

qinf = 1/2 rhoinf . Vinf2

where:rhoinf is the free stream fluid densityVinf is the free stream fluid speed

Pressure Coefficient Comparison Between Calculation (lines) and Experiment Around an Airfoil

You will often see pressure coefficient plots of numerical calculations compared with wind tunnel experimental data as a means to judge the accuracy of the numerical technique used. This type of comparison is often referred to as a validation.